Expanding Maternal Health Research: NIH Grants $2 Million to Two New Centers of Excellence

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has recently awarded two new grants to expand its Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence. These centers were launched as part of the NIH’s IMPROVE initiative last year, with the aim of developing and evaluating innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths, as well as promote maternal health equity.

With an increase in funding for the IMPROVE initiative in the fiscal year 2024 federal budget, the Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence will now extend their reach to additional communities in the United States with high burdens of severe pregnancy-related complications and deaths. Diana W. Bianchi, M.D., the director of NICHD, expressed excitement about this expansion.

The two new research centers, located at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), were selected from a pool of applicants after a competitive peer review process. Each center received approximately $2 million in first-year funding, with the grants expected to last for six years. Rachel Caskey, M.D., will lead the UIC center, while Dara Mendez, Ph.D., will lead the center at the University of Pittsburgh.

These new additions bring the total number of Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence to 12, along with a data innovation and coordinating hub, and an implementation science hub. These institutions collaborate with community partners to address various factors impacting pregnancy-related complications and deaths, focusing on populations that experience health disparities.

NICHD, the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health, and the National Institute of Nursing Research co-lead the IMPROVE initiative, with contributions from other NIH institutes, centers, and offices. Through these collaborative efforts